The Grand Comic Book Data Base is accrediting pencils and inks to Kurt Schaffenberger, but I can see the confusion.
The Superman figure is definitely his, but Lois doesn't quite look like Kurt's work.
You know, I have looked at this comic and cover a number of times over the years, and I just assumed that the cover was by Schaffenberger, but on a closer look, I believe you may be right!
To me now, the Lois looks much more like how Pete Costanza (he started at DC about a year before this) would have depicted her, although why editor Weisinger would have used two artists on this cover, I have no idea. Possibly Weisinger was dissatisfied with some aspect of Schaffenberger's original Lois, and Costanza just happened to be in the office that day and Weisinger got him to redraw her?
I was thinking that it might just have been inked by Schaffenberger, and pencilled by someone else, probably Costanza. Both Lois & Superman's bodies seem a bit thicker than Kurt usually drew them. But I could be wrong.
I'm another who thinks Kurt Schaffenberger certainly had a hand in it, but it does look like someone else did too. I'm not sure about the Superman figure. The anatomy of his left arm looks a bit off to me, but Schaffenberger did draw a thicker Superman than Curt Swan and Superman is posed similarly on #54.
For comparisons, the GCD credits the cover of #63 to Wayne Boring and Schaffenberger (the figure of Superman is clearly Boring's), and I think Lois's face on #64 and Superman's on #61 and in the central panel on #77 might not be Schaffenberger's, but I'd have to go through his stories carefully for comparisons to be sure.
The #76 cover is the second-last from Schaffenberger's long run as the usual cover artist. Carmine Infantino had become editorial director at DC and the #76 cover and Schaffenberger's replacement as cover-artist after #77 might reflect changes in how covers were done at the company.
I tend to think the cover work is almost all Schaffenberger.
Pete Costanza did ink Schaffenberger inside issue 78 (which sort of continued from this one--77 being a Giant), but I don't think there's any Constanza inks on this cover.
The previous issue had Lois change her hairstyle, after having had the same hairstyle for about seven years under Schaffenberger. Although, in that issue, for story reasons, Lois sports yet another hairstyle for most of the story. So this issue 76 was the first chance to really try out the new do.
It's possible that Schaffenberger was still getting used to the new do and maybe that's what makes some doubt his sure hand on the cover. And since Infantino was supervising covers, he might have had a hand in roughing out Lois' new look for the cover. But those would have been roughs that Schaffenberger tightened up and inked in his style.
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That looks like the unmistakable touch of the late, great Kurt Schaffenberger to me.
Looking at it the cover is a masterpiece of subtle direction. Everything points to Lois's head.
Mark, what image host are you using? I never seem to be able to see the images you post. Perhaps I have your host blocked.
I see it as an attached link, Randy. I had to click the link to see the cover.
I've been uploading the files since I had a glitch with my isp. Glitch is long gone, I just got out of the habit.
Randy Jackson said:
The Grand Comic Book Data Base is accrediting pencils and inks to Kurt Schaffenberger, but I can see the confusion.
The Superman figure is definitely his, but Lois doesn't quite look like Kurt's work.
Lee Houston, Junior said:
You know, I have looked at this comic and cover a number of times over the years, and I just assumed that the cover was by Schaffenberger, but on a closer look, I believe you may be right!
To me now, the Lois looks much more like how Pete Costanza (he started at DC about a year before this) would have depicted her, although why editor Weisinger would have used two artists on this cover, I have no idea. Possibly Weisinger was dissatisfied with some aspect of Schaffenberger's original Lois, and Costanza just happened to be in the office that day and Weisinger got him to redraw her?
Or I could be 100% wrong!
I was thinking that it might just have been inked by Schaffenberger, and pencilled by someone else, probably Costanza. Both Lois & Superman's bodies seem a bit thicker than Kurt usually drew them. But I could be wrong.
I'm another who thinks Kurt Schaffenberger certainly had a hand in it, but it does look like someone else did too. I'm not sure about the Superman figure. The anatomy of his left arm looks a bit off to me, but Schaffenberger did draw a thicker Superman than Curt Swan and Superman is posed similarly on #54.
For comparisons, the GCD credits the cover of #63 to Wayne Boring and Schaffenberger (the figure of Superman is clearly Boring's), and I think Lois's face on #64 and Superman's on #61 and in the central panel on #77 might not be Schaffenberger's, but I'd have to go through his stories carefully for comparisons to be sure.
The #76 cover is the second-last from Schaffenberger's long run as the usual cover artist. Carmine Infantino had become editorial director at DC and the #76 cover and Schaffenberger's replacement as cover-artist after #77 might reflect changes in how covers were done at the company.
I tend to think the cover work is almost all Schaffenberger.
Pete Costanza did ink Schaffenberger inside issue 78 (which sort of continued from this one--77 being a Giant), but I don't think there's any Constanza inks on this cover.
The previous issue had Lois change her hairstyle, after having had the same hairstyle for about seven years under Schaffenberger. Although, in that issue, for story reasons, Lois sports yet another hairstyle for most of the story. So this issue 76 was the first chance to really try out the new do.
It's possible that Schaffenberger was still getting used to the new do and maybe that's what makes some doubt his sure hand on the cover. And since Infantino was supervising covers, he might have had a hand in roughing out Lois' new look for the cover. But those would have been roughs that Schaffenberger tightened up and inked in his style.
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